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Date: 11/30/2022
BELCHERTOWN – The father and son owners of Country Crossroads Convenience store, attorneys and the Select Board all gathered to host a public hearing for a full alcohol license at the Nov. 21 Select Board meeting.
Country Crossroads applied for a change in their off-premises liquor license from a beer and wine only to an all alcohol and beverages in March 2022.
The board opened a public hearing to discuss the matter in April but voted to discuss it further with a response in a maximum of 30 days.
After not hearing back for over 30 days, Country Crossroads assumed the application was denied and filed an appeal the Alcohol Beverages Control Commission (ABCC).
The ABCC deemed that it would not host a hearing with Country Crossroads until they had a hearing with the Select Board to get an official ruling.
Belchertown is allowed to have a certain number of full alcohol licenses based on the population. They were only allowed to grant three licenses up to this point but after a 2020 census update of the town, their population grew to over 15,000 people, granting them another license they could hand out.
A couple weeks ago the board enacted a three-month moratorium on any new liquor license applications because they wanted to be able to set up criteria for all the current applications they intended to receive from businesses looking to upgrade to a full alcohol license.
Town Planner Doug Albertson said that the town currently has three stores with all alcohol licenses and six stores with beer and wine only licenses.
Select Board Chair Jim Barry said that the board received emails from all six businesses expressing their interest in the new alcohol license and wanted to figure out a way to hear from each one and grade who deserves it.
Co-owner and manager of Country Crossroads Convenience store Akshar Patel said he has been trying to receive this license for a couple years now and patiently waiting for another one to become available.
“I believe that we are at a competitive disadvantage.” Patel added. “We are in an unfair situation where we can only sell beer and wine and across the street there is a full liquor license.”
Patel said he has received many requests from customers to sell certain types of alcohol or hard liquor and serves a different market than other stores.
“I serve a lot of boutique craft beers and wine and I plan to expand that to specialty and high-end spirits. I want Country Crossroads to be a destination for people even outside the town to shop at my store,” Patel said.
Patel also added that he is unaware if anyone else in town sells the high-end spirits he is looking to sell since he has his own store but is confident of his knowledge in the industry to be able to sell unique drinks.
The attorney for Country Crossroads added that her client is the only business to send in an application to her knowledge.
Even though the Select Board has only received one application for the full alcohol license, Select Board Vice Chair Ron Aponte said, “I am not aware of the board or the town ever actively soliciting applications. My memory is last spring the board discussed if there is a need and what the criteria would be.”
Aponte added that the board received seven or eight letters of interests from businesses but no other applications because they did not require one.
A few members from the community came to the meeting to offer their support for how friendly the owners of Country Crossroads are and that they deserve this license.
One community member stated, “Granting them this license would be another great place to go in Belchertown. They are great people and great businesspeople who are open to customer feedback with a welcoming environment.”
Another community member complained that she is tired of driving to other stores out of town like Amherst to receive the type of drinks she is looking for.
Select Board Clerk Peg Louraine said, “I think this has gone on too long. Mr. Patel sounds like he is going to serve a niche market which is of interest to me because anything that makes Belchertown a destination is a positive thing.”
Select Board member Ed Boscher added, “I do believe in small business I just wish we had an opportunity to go through our process first and outline for everyone.”
Aponte added he would like to hear more feedback from businesses and the public for a need to grant the fourth all alcohol licenses.
Town attorney Gregg Corbo recommended the board see the moratorium through and try to finalize their criteria and host a public forum with all the interested businesses, including Country Crossroads.
The Select Board voted 3-1 to deny Country Crossroads their application for an all alcohol license.
Corbo said since the application was denied, the board is required to make findings in support of its decision.
The Select Board was scheduled to meet with Country Crossroads at its next meeting on Nov. 28, after press time, to discuss a list of factual findings for their reasoning for their decision.